OTTAWA, MONTREAL and TORONTO, Oct. 8 /CNW Telbec/ - On the eve of Alberta
Premier Ed Stelmach's central Canadian tour to promote development of the
Athabasca tar sands, the Climate Action Network released a report today
showing that the federal government's proposed climate change strategy lets
oil companies off the hook.
"The federal government's proposed climate change plan appears to be
designed to accommodate explosive growth in greenhouse gas pollution from the
tar sands. If the plan goes forward, emissions from the tar sands will more
than double over the next decade making it virtually impossible for Canada to
do its fair share in the fight against climate change," said Graham Saul of
Climate Action Network, a coalition of Canada's leading environmental groups.
Stuck in the Tar Sands: How the Federal Government's Proposed Climate
Change Strategy Lets Oil Companies off the Hook demonstrates how the federal
government has failed to hold oil companies accountable for the emissions they
generate.
Climate Action Network is calling for an immediate tax on greenhouse gas
pollution, the development and implementation of a rigorous cap-and-trade
system and a requirement that all existing and new oil sands operations become
"carbon neutral" by 2020.
"Stelmach and Harper have turned their backs on the climate crisis and
refused to take real action to reduce emissions from the tar sands. We need
the federal government to take its head out the sands and show some real
leadership on this issue," stated Dave Martin of Greenpeace Canada.
Premier Stelmach's visit to Montreal today and Toronto tomorrow coincides
with tar-sands companies' push to increase its export infrastructure and get
the oil out of Alberta and to the main North American refining facilities. For
example, Calgary-based Enbridge has asked the National Energy Board to
authorize a Montréal-Sarnia pipeline reversal, allowing the shipment of more
than 200,000 barrels per day to Montréal, most of it en route to Texas by way
of pipelines and oil tankers.
The project will be a tough sell in Québec where, in a recent CROP
survey, more than seventy per cent of Quebeckers indicated that Enbridge's
pipeline project must be delayed until stronger environmental laws are in
place to control greenhouse gas emissions from the tar sands.
"Quebeckers are starting to do their share when it comes to reducing
their greenhouse gas emissions and they expect others to do their share, too,"
said Sidney Ribaux, Executive Director of Montreal-based Equiterre. "We don't
want to be part of any plan that subverts our efforts to cut greenhouse gas
emissions, including expansion in the tar sands."